Smile for Me
by ravengal
Summary: A happy-go-lucky pikachu meets a less-than-happy piplup on a team. Fast becoming friends, the two of them go on an adventure together, where they make many more friends, save two PokéParks and... maybe even find love along the way. [Multi-ship fic]
1. A Friend in Need

Author's note: Hey, guys and gals!

Here's my new PokéPark fic! It promises slice-of-life shenanigans, but what's this?! It doesn't start in the PokéPark?!

It will certainly get there eventually, but, for now... backstory!

Also, I made a reference to two characters from a fic called Cursed Yoshi! Which is... undoubtedly the most laughably edgy fic I have ever read. XD And it's set in a world full of yoshi. From Mario. Yes, those cute little dinosaurs with saddles. Wielding weapons, competing in death tournaments, living in assassins guilds and turning into psyonics-blasting edgelords.

... I loved every second of that fic for ALL the wrong reasons. XD I just HAD to reference it at least once.

Well, hope you enjoy the chapter! And here's my best mistake of the day!

'... Well, someone had to **put on their faces**!'

This Pikachu carries faces around on a backpack like the Happy Mask Salesman from Zelda!

He has a face for every occasion! Buy today!

* * *

 **Chapter One** **: A Friend in Need**

The bright afternoon sun shone down on the region of Sinnoh. Standing on all fours, Pikachu grinned happily at his opponent. The piplup was frowning back in concentration.

Behind the penguin stood a boy. A ten-year-old, by the looks of it. He had brown hair and grey eyes. All of his clothing, strangely, was either brown or grey to match.

"Alright, Piplup," the boy called out, "use Bubble!"

Piplup opened his beak and fired a stream of slow-moving bubbles. Beaming in excitement, Pikachu dodged out of the way.

"Again!" the boy cried.

Piplup shot another stream of bubbles, which Pikachu easily dodged. Wow, he loved battling! Whether his opponent was tall or small, strong or not, it was always so much fun!

Dashing forwards, he rammed his head into Piplup with Feint, knocking the penguin back and sending him rolling.

"Piplup! Get up and use Peck!"

Springing back to his feet, Piplup charged forward with his beak glowing.

Laughing in joy, Pikachu dodged out of the way.

"Keep using Peck!"

Piplup lunged from every direction he could, beak first, with Pikachu continually dodging around him.

Still laughing, Pikachu charged up electricity in his cheeks.

"Bubble, quick!"

Piplup fired off another volley of bubbles. Dodging around them, Pikachu released a Thundershock. It fried the penguin, who shrieked in pain and fell over. He didn't get up again.

Pikachu did a victory backflip, then punched the sky in joy.

"Urrrrgh!" the trainer groaned. " _Again_!" He fell to his knees in frustration.

Blinking, Pikachu lowered his arm, watching the boy in intrigue.

After a pause, the boy looked down at Piplup in disgust. "... I'm never gonna catch anything with you, am I?"

Piplup struggled to sit up, looking annoyed with himself.

"Urgh..." The boy paused again. "I wonder if I can still go back for Turtwig?"

Piplup turned away, looking hurt, but also angry. Almost like he'd expected his trainer to say that.

The boy heaved an aggravated sigh. "Yeah, it's probably gone by now..."

Pikachu blinked again, shocked. The boy wanted to trade in his starter? Just because he hadn't helped him catch any pokémon?

Wow. That... wasn't good.

He looked back and forth between the two angry faces, not liking what he was seeing. He didn't like seeing people angry. Because that meant they weren't happy.

He didn't like it when people weren't happy...

He considered his options.

As the human stood up, he grumpily pulled out a pokéball, still glaring at Piplup. The penguin still wasn't looking at him.

... Well, someone had to put smiles on their faces! If it had to be him, then so be it! Smiling widely, Pikachu stepped forward.

The human looked at him in confusion. "... Huh? What?"

Pikachu pointed to himself, then pointed at the pokéball. The human looked back and forth between him and the pokéball, even more confused.

Even Piplup had turned to look at him now. The penguin looked just as confused.

Pikachu stepped forward some more. He pointed to himself in a more exaggerated manner, then held out his arms, as if for a hug. After holding the pose for a few moments, he pointed at the pokéball again.

"... You... want me to catch you?"

Pikachu nodded.

Piplup's eyes widened in shock.

"... Really? But I didn't even weaken you!"

Pikachu shook his head, still smiling. Holding out his arms to show how unguarded he was, he waited.

"... Well, alright then." Putting away Piplup's pokéball, the human pulled out another one. Pressing the button on it, he enlarged its size. "Go, pokéball!" He threw it at Pikachu.

It soared through the air, smacking Pikachu on the head. As it opened and began to pull him inside, he started to get excited.

Maybe having a trainer would be fun!

* * *

Later, Pikachu was let out of his pokéball and presented with a bowl of pellets.

He blinked at it. Well, he'd certainly never eaten these before! It could be fun trying a new diet.

Sitting down by the bowl, he pulled one out and nibbled on it.

Hmm. Well, it wasn't mago berries, but it was alright! He ate a few more.

"... Hey," Piplup said from beside him.

He looked up, beaming. "Oh, hey!" he replied.

Piplup sat down by the second bowl of pellets. "... Why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get yourself caught. I mean, I lost the battle, so..."

"Oh! Right!" Pikachu's smile brightened. "Well, why not, right? It might be fun!"

"Uh... yeah, sure." Piplup grabbed a pellet and ate it. Swallowing, he continued. "Hey. Thanks."

"Hmm?"

"For throwing me a bone, I guess. I'm a really bad battler."

"Aww, no worries! I had fun in our battle! And you looked like you could use a pick-me-up, so hey!"

Piplup heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I guess I did. Marcus might have sent me back or something if you hadn't done that, so... thanks."

"Marcus?" Pikachu glanced briefly at their trainer, who was struggling to open a can of corned beef. "Is that his name?"

"Yeah." Piplup paused. "I've... been trying to catch him a second pokémon for ages now, but I keep losing." Pikachu turned around in time to see the penguin shrug. "He's getting pretty sick of it now."

Pikachu smiled. "Oh, well, don't worry! You've got _me_ on the team now, so it's all good!"

Piplup smiled back at him. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess _so_!"

* * *

A couple of days' travelling later, Marcus was taking a break. As he lay back on the grass, relaxing, Pikachu and Piplup were playing tag.

"Gotcha!" Pikachu called out as he tapped Piplup on the back.

"Argh, dang it!" Piplup replied, not looking annoyed at all as he turned around. "You're too good at this game!"

Pikachu laughed. "Yeah, well, I used to play it all the time back home!"

Piplup huffed amusedly.

Suddenly, Pikachu heard a set of footsteps approach. "Well, if it isn't ol' Mark," a voice said.

Intrigued, he turned to see another young boy standing over Marcus. His messy hair was a dark shade of blue and a cocky light shone out from his brown eyes.

Looking up from where he was lying, arms behind his head, Marcus looked unimpressed. "Oh," he replied. "Hi, Manny..."

Manny looked over at Pikachu and Piplup. He grinned, revealing a set of rather long canines. "Well! Look who finally caught a second pokémon!"

"Shut up."

Manny looked back down at Marcus. "So. Wanna battle?"

Marcus huffed. After a moment, he got to his feet. "Yeah, sure."

Pikachu's eyes lit up. A battle? With another trainer?! Oh, he was excited already! He looked to Piplup, hoping to share in this joy, but Piplup looked less than pleased.

He was about to ask why, but Manny interrupted him.

"Alright, man. How about I go easy on ya and call mine out first?"

Pikachu turned in time to see Marcus huff in response.

"Be my guest," his trainer replied.

Manny grinned, showing off his canines. Pulling out a pokéball and enlarging it, he threw it. "Go, Chimchar!"

The pokéball popped open. In a bright flash of white light, a chimchar materialised on the grass.

"Alright. Go get him, Piplup!"

Begrudgingly, Piplup stepped forward into position. Seeing his new friend's lack of enthusiasm, Pikachu decided to cheer him on.

Piplup looked back at him in appreciation.

"Alright, Marky. Why don't _you_ make the first move?"

"Hmph. Fine. Piplup, use Bubble!"

Piplup opened his beak, releasing a stream of slow-moving bubbles.

"Chimchar, dodge and use Ember!"

Sidestepping the bubbles, Chimchar shot a small blast of fire from his mouth. It hit Piplup smack in the face, causing him to stumble.

Pikachu shouted some encouraging words. Shaking off the attack, Piplup frowned in determination.

Manny grinned. "Now get in close and Scratch!"

Chimchar ran forwards, his hand curled into a claw shape. As he approached, he began to swing at Piplup.

"Piplup, dodge it!"

Piplup jumped to the side to avoid it, but tripped over his own flipper and fell to the floor with a yelp.

Manny cracked up laughing. "Aw, man! Chimchar, Scratch again!"

Spinning on the spot, Chimchar struck out, scratching Piplup across the face. The penguin yelped in pain.

"Piplup! Get up and use Peck!"

Beak glowing white, Piplup jumped to his feet and tried to peck Chimchar.

"Chimchar, dodge!"

Chimchar leapt back, over and over again, to avoid the strikes.

"Urgh!" Marcus yelled in frustration. "Piplup, Bubble!"

Switching attacks, Piplup fired out a stream of bubbles, instead. They smacked Chimchar directly in the face.

Pikachu cheered. Then he stopped when he realised that it had barely affected Chimchar.

Manny laughed again. "Man, your piplup's pathetic! Now, Chimchar, Ember!"

Opening his mouth, Chimchar fired back a blast of embers, which struck Piplup in the face. With a yelp, the penguin fell over.

He stayed down.

Manny grinned, showing off his canines again. Pikachu couldn't help but notice that Chimchar had fangs, too. Huh, like trainer, like pokémon.

"Welp, guess that's one win for me. Time to make it two, eh?"

With a deep groan, Marcus held up a pokéball and recalled Piplup. Pikachu felt bad. Poor Piplup. Well, the penguin had tried his best and he could appreciate that.

He smiled, telling himself that he'd make sure to praise Piplup for his efforts later.

"Alright, Pikachu, you're up."

Nodding, Pikachu jumped in front of Marcus, landing on all fours. He smirked, excited and battle-ready. Opposite him, Chimchar frowned back, looking determined.

Wow, this was his first battle on a trainer's team! He couldn't believe it! It was no longer a solo battle, like it had always been before. Now he was fighting on Piplup's behalf, too! As well as Marcus'! It was a team effort! And, if he won, it would be a team victory!

That just made it more exciting in his eyes.

He couldn't wait to get started!


	2. Fight Club

Author's note: Hey.

Dudes. So many faves and follows, but only one review? Did none of you have anything to say? :(

I know it was only the first chapter, but if you don't get _some_ sort of impression from it, then I'm doing something wrong.

Saying that, here's a shout-out to MewLover54 for his kind words. You're a bro, bro!

... On another note, I forgot to mention that this fic is a _completely_ different universe to my other PokéPark fic, From The Heart, and its sequel, From The Expert. We're starting fresh! Yay!

I hope you enjoy the chapter and please. Dudes. Commeeeent!

* * *

 **Chapter Two** **: Fight Club**

Manny held out his hand, the palm facing upwards mockingly. "How about you go first?" he offered.

Marcus was silent for a moment. "... Pikachu, use Feint!" he called out.

Running forwards, Pikachu slammed his body into Chimchar, who stumbled back a few steps, but stayed on his feet.

"Chimchar, Ember!"

Chimchar opened his mouth and shot out a burst of fire.

"Pikachu, dodge it!"

Leaping to the side, Pikachu managed to avoid the onslaught. His smile widened.

Marcus continued. "Now use Thundershock!"

Gathering electricity in his cheeks, he unleashed a small bolt of lightning, striking Chimchar. The monkey yelped in pain.

Manny cried out in shock. After a moment, he recovered. "Chimchar, Scratch!"

Leaping forward, his hand forming a claw shape, Chimchar swiped at Pikachu.

"Dodge!"

At the last second, Pikachu dodged out of the way. He could feel the air from the swipe brush faintly against his face.

Marcus continued. "Now Feint!"

Dashing forwards, Pikachu slammed into Chimchar. Unprepared, the monkey tumbled backwards with a yelp.

"Chimchar! Ember, now!"

Quickly sitting upright, Chimchar fired off another burst of flames.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

Charging up electricity, Pikachu fired another bolt of lightning. It crashed into the Ember. The two attacks pushed against one another for a moment, before Thundershock powered through, dispersing the fire.

Chimchar screeched as he was electrocuted. When the attack cut out, he collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

Pikachu did a backflip, then punched the sky in joy.

"Huh," Manny said. He recalled Chimchar, then grinned. "Hey, not bad! Caught yourself a decent pokémon there, Marko!"

"... Yeah," Marcus replied somewhat gently.

Pikachu glanced up at his trainer. His face broke into a smile when he saw that Marcus was smiling slightly! It wasn't much, but it was certainly progress!

Any progress was _good_ progress in his book!

"Alright, go, Starly!" Manny called out.

Pikachu turned around in time to see a bright flash of light. From it emerged a starly, who calmly stretched her wings before looking ready to fight.

Manny grinned. "How about _I_ have the first move this time, since you have a type advantage?"

"Sure, whatever," Marcus replied.

"Alright, Starly, Quick Attack!"

Rising into the air, Starly flew directly at Pikachu.

"Pikachu, Feint!"

Getting on all fours, Pikachu rushed forwards. With a crash, he intercepted the Quick Attack. The two pokémon forcefully pushed their foreheads against each other, fighting for dominance.

Pikachu grinned in excitement. This hurt, but it was so much fun!

"Now! Wing Attack!"

Pulling away, Starly did a backwards somersault in the air, her wings glowing white as she lunged at him.

"Dodge it, Pikachu!"

Pikachu jumped to the side, avoiding the attack.

"Again!" Manny called out.

Doing a swift one-eighty, Starly struck Pikachu in the back with Wing Attack. Crying out in pain, Pikachu went tumbling forwards.

"Ha! Finally!"

Pikachu pushed himself to his feet, giggling. Ah, the thrill of battle! Nothing beat it, really.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

Building up electricity, Pikachu fired it.

"Dodge, Starly!"

Starly flew to the side, avoiding the attack.

"Again!" Marcus called out.

Pikachu fired off another round of electricity.

"Keep dodging!"

Starly dodged left. When Pikachu fired another bolt, she dodged right.

"Quick Attack!" Manny called out.

Folding back her wings, Starly took a nose-dive towards Pikachu.

"Feint!" Marcus called out.

Dropping the electricity, Pikachu leapt into the air, crashing once more into Starly. They both flew backwards from the impact.

"Now Thundershock!"

Building up more electricity, Pikachu fired it.

"Starly, dodge!"

She wasn't fast enough. The attack hit her full-force, causing her to screech in pain.

Once the attack ended, she drifted down to the floor, landed and didn't get up again.

Doing a backflip, Pikachu punched the sky in victory.

"Huh," Manny said, grinning and recalling Starly. "Well, whatta you know, Marky-moo. Guess you beat me."

"... Yeah," Marcus said, sounding shocked, himself.

"You caught yourself a good pokémon." Manny paused, then laughed. "Still not sure about your starter, though! You might wanna work on that!"

After a moment, Marcus huffed. "... Yeah."

"Well, guess I'll see you around, huh? Maybe we'll get to battle again!"

"Yeah, sure."

"Heh. See ya!"

"... Bye."

With a small wave, Manny turned around and started walking away. Eventually, his form disappeared amongst the trees.

Marcus heaved a sigh as he recalled Pikachu. "... I really wish he'd stop with the stupid nicknames..."

* * *

Later in the day, Pikachu and Piplup were let out of their pokéballs to eat dinner. As they sat down by their bowls, Pikachu smiled at Piplup.

"Man, I'm starving!" he said. "How about you?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty hungry," Piplup replied.

"Then let's dig in!" Picking up a pellet, Pikachu nibbled on it. He pouted at the flavour. "Aww, that's so dry..."

Piplup looked at him curiously, a pellet halfway to his beak. "You don't like dry food?"

Pikachu shook his head. "Nah. It makes me _really_ thirsty." He smacked his lips to wet them, then smiled at the penguin. "How about you? Do _you_ like it?"

Piplup shrugged. "Eh, I don't mind it. Food's food, right?" He threw the pellet into his mouth for emphasis.

"Ahh, so you like _all_ foods?"

"I guesh sho."

"Huh, just like both my parents, then!" Pikachu nibbled on his pellet, pouting again at the chalky texture. "I wish _I_ liked all foods..."

Piplup swallowed his pellet. "Yeah, well... maybe you'll get a better flavour tomorrow."

Pikachu brightened up. "Yeah, maybe!" His stomach grumbled. He chuckled awkwardly. "For now, though, I guess this'll have to do."

"Mmm." Piplup picked up another pellet. "It's not that bad, really."

"If you say so!"

With a few more bites, Pikachu ate the rest of his incredibly dry pellet. He had to admit, it was fun to listen to it crack and crunch as he bit into it. Plus, there was a hint of something tasty in there, way in the back somewhere. It was a pity that he wished he was eating pretty much anything else.

Ah well. Sometimes, you just had to put up with things, even if they were unpleasant.

"By the way..." Piplup said, "great job on the battle earlier."

He smiled at the penguin. "Oh, you heard it?"

"Yeah, from my pokéball. You won against both of Manny's pokémon. Good job!"

Pikachu beamed. "Heh heh, thanks! You did great, too!"

"Oh, don't flatter me."

"I'm not! You did good. Really!"

"... Well, thanks."

Picking up another pellet, Pikachu glanced over at Marcus, who was trying to cook himself something in a pot. Judging by the scowl on his face, it wasn't going well.

"... Speaking of Manny, how long has Marcus known him?"

A few crunching sounds later, Piplup answered him. "As far as I know... since they were kids." Pikachu looked back at the penguin as he continued. "They both come from Sandgem Town and grew up together. They used to scrap all the time."

Pikachu blinked. "Scrap? Like... actually fight?"

"Yeah... and Marcus would always come off worse."

"Oh, wow."

"It's probably why he wants to beat him so badly."

"Makes sense."

Piplup picked up another pellet. "... This is the third time I've battled his chimchar."

Pikachu smiled. "The third?"

"Yeah. I lost every time." He paused, rolling the pellet around in his flippers. "... You know, Marcus actually wanted Chimchar."

Pikachu's eyes widened slightly. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah... and he could've had him! Manny even let him pick first..." He frowned slightly. "But, at the last second, he chose _me_... I still don't know why."

Pikachu smiled again. "Well, that's good, isn't it? That he chose you, instead?"

Piplup shrugged. "Eh. It _was_ , but... like I said, I kept losing. To a fire-type."

"Oh. Well-"

"So he thought about swapping me out for Turtwig... but _he's_ probably been taken by now, too." He paused. "And I dunno when Professor Rowan will get more."

"He's the guy who handles starters, right?"

"In Sinnoh, yeah." He paused again. "Then there's the fact that I couldn't catch him a second pokémon..."

Pikachu beamed. "But you did, though! You caught _me_!"

Piplup heaved a sigh. "But _I_ didn't do that. You got _yourself_ caught."

"... Still."

"Look, I know I'm awful, okay? I've always been awful."

"Hey, come on, don't say that! You lost _today_ , but I'm sure you'll do better tomorrow!"

"Eh. Somehow, I doubt that."

"You've just gotta believe in yourself! Try your best, train hard... and you can achieve anything!"

Piplup stared at him for a moment.

Pikachu continued. "Heck, I'll even _help_ you train, if you want! We can get stronger _together_! Then we'll _really_ impress our trainer!"

Piplup blinked a few times. Eventually, he exhaled.

"Ehhhh... no thanks."

Pikachu blinked. "Huh?"

"I don't really like battling."

Pikachu blinked again, dumbstruck. "... Really?"

"Yeah." Piplup shrugged. "I know, right? Why am I a starter if I don't like battling?" He threw his pellet into his mouth. "Well, my breeder washn't to know."

... He didn't like battling? Wow, that line of thinking was so foreign to Pikachu! How could someone not want to battle?! It was so fun, pitting your skills against other pokémon! Testing their mettle, while also testing your own! Getting stronger, just to do it all over again!

Pikachu blinked as he realised something. "Wait, you came from a breeder?"

Piplup swallowed his pellet. "Yeah. They breed starters, then pass them on to the professor of that region. Ours was Rowan. Then they get passed on to new trainers."

"Ah, okay."

Piplup looked directly at him. "You're a wild pokémon, right?"

Pikachu smiled. "Yep! Born and bred!"

"Huh." Piplup looked off into the distance. "I wonder what that's like...?"

"... Well, I'd say it's pretty neat! But I didn't grow up around lots of other pikachu, like _you_ probably did! You know, except they'd be piplup."

"Yeah. Guess so..."

The penguin seemed to be zoning out.

"... Hey, uh..." Pikachu said, "did you know your parents at all? I'm curious."

Piplup shook his head. "Not really. I heard they were two empoleon, but that was it, really. I was raised by a breeder."

"Ah, okay."

Piplup turned to smile at him. "He was a nice breeder, though. He'd tell us all sorts of stories and took really good care of us."

Pikachu smiled back. "That's nice."

"Yeah." Piplup turned to stare off into the distance again.

"... So you really don't like battling?"

"Nope. Not at all."

"Oh."

Yeah, that was something that Pikachu really couldn't understand.

... But, if it made Piplup happy doing things that way, then who was he to complain?

"Well," he continued, "if you ever change your mind, I'll be happy to help, okay? And if not, that's cool, too!"

Piplup turned to him, looking mildly surprised.

After a few moments, the penguin's expression melted into a gentle smile. "Yeah, sure. Thanks."

Pikachu beamed back at him. "No problem!"


	3. The Big Leagues

Author's note: Heya, guys!

Today's chapter has two more subtle references to Cursed Yoshi. XP Not that anyone will pick up on them. They were apparently so subtle that even VGS2 (who I read Cursed Yoshi with) didn't get them right away. Oyyy... XD

Anyway, hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter Three** **: The Big Leagues**

"Pikachu, go!" Marcus called out.

Sensing his trainer's desire to battle, Pikachu grew excited as he popped out of his pokéball and materialised on the grass. He dropped down to four legs in a battle-ready pose.

Then he paused, blinking. Wait, where was his opponent?

"It's getting away! After it!"

Pikachu snapped to attention. He looked in all directions, trying to find who he was supposed to chase.

All around him was what seemed to be an empty forest.

He looked questioningly back at Marcus. His trainer heaved a sigh and pointed. With a smile and a determined nod, Pikachu ran off in the direction he'd pointed.

Approaching a clump of trees, Pikachu peeked around them. When his eyes landed on a stunky that was running away, he assumed that was his target.

Oh! Was Marcus trying to catch a third pokémon? Smiling widely, he gave chase.

... Well, he tried to, but the stunky was clearly a lot faster than him. Dang. He'd always been fairly slow. Well, not slugma slow, but still not great.

Unable to catch up, he slowed to a stop. Then he watched as the stunky got away.

Aww. Dang. If only he'd been a little bit faster.

"Argh!" he heard Marcus yell. Turning to his trainer, he saw that the boy looked agitated. "Stupid thing got away!"

He gave his trainer an apologetic smile.

Heaving a sigh, Marcus returned him to his pokéball.

* * *

"Go, Pikachu!" Marcus called out.

In a flash of white light, Pikachu materialised on the grass. He dropped to four legs, ready for battle. Then his trainer cried out in surprise and annoyance.

"Where'd it go?!"

Oh dear. It seemed that Marcus had lost sight of something again. He looked around for whatever it was, but all he could see was an empty forest.

"Find that bidoof!"

Nodding, Pikachu took off to find it.

He searched around the trees, in a few patches of grass and even down the nearby river.

Nope. They'd lost it. Dang.

* * *

With a smile, Pikachu thanked Marcus as the boy lay down his bowl. Nodding in response, Marcus walked off to eat his own lunch.

"No luck catching a pokémon, still?" Piplup asked from beside him.

Pikachu turned to the penguin, shaking his head. "Nope." He sighed lightly. "It's been a couple of days and still nothing."

"Pity."

"Yeah."

Piplup threw a pellet in his mouth and chewed it thoughtfully. After a while, he swallowed. "Dunno why they're getting so hard to find."

"I know! They're either not around or too fast for me to catch." Pikachu pouted. After a moment, he smiled. "Then again, wild pokémon tend to avoid trainers."

Piplup looked at him, long and hard, for a moment. "... So, then, why were _you_ so easy to find?"

Pikachu blinked. "Huh?"

"Like you said, they don't like being seen, right? So what about you? You jumped right out into the open when you saw us."

Pikachu beamed. "Oh! Well, I loved battling passing trainers! It was fun and a great way to test my skills! Plus, it was like a challenge."

Piplup blinked. "A challenge?"

"Yeah! To see how long I could go without getting caught."

"Oh." After a pause, Piplup shrugged in amusement. "Guess we broke your win streak then, huh?"

Pikachu laughed. "Yep!"

"Though you kinda did that to yourself... You coulda probably kept going if you hadn't pitied me."

"Eh, it's okay. Being on a team is fun!"

"You've certainly adapted well enough." Piplup paused for thought. "What was that like? Suddenly being told what to do?"

Pikachu blinked. "Huh?"

"Well, I mean... you were used to fighting alone, right? With no trainer? Now you're following Marcus' orders with no problem."

Pikachu blinked again. "Huh..." He smiled. "I guess you're right!" He paused for thought. "I never really thought about it. I just sort of sunk into the role, you know? And I guess it's fun following someone else's orders for a change!"

Piplup shook his head amusedly. "Is everything fun to you?"

Pikachu beamed. "Pretty much!"

Piplup chuckled. After a few moments, he sighed and crossed his flippers. "Honestly, Marcus is probably getting a bit desperate now."

Pikachu blinked. "How so?"

"I remember ages ago, he said he wanted at least three pokémon before fighting the first gym."

"... Gym?"

Piplup looked at him curiously. "You don't know what a gym is?"

Pikachu shook his head. "Nope."

"Well, there's eight of them. You battle in them, get badges and then you fight in a tournament or... something."

Pikachu's eyes lit up. "Ooh! Sounds fun!"

"Yeah. Well... we must be coming up to the first gym, because he seems extra keen to catch a third pokémon now." He gave a light sigh. "Let's hope we catch one soon, then, I guess..."

"Yeah! We will! We've just gotta keep trying and believing! And hey, even if we don't, I'm sure the two of us can handle it. Right?"

Piplup gave him a curious gaze. "You seem awfully sure of yourself."

"Of course I am! And I'm sure of you, too!"

Piplup's eyes widened slightly. After a long moment of silence, he smiled warmly. "Heh. Thanks."

* * *

A couple more days of failed catches went by, two of which had actually belonged to other trainers. Marcus had accidentally been branded a thief twice. Once by a gentle girl with pink hair in a braid, who'd been wearing a pearl necklace. Another by a fiesty girl with red pigtails and tanned skin, who'd been covered in bangles. It had taken a fair bit of explaining to clear things up both times.

Another pokémon had put up quite a fight, but been far too hard to beat, while another had escaped by hopping across skipping stones in the river. While giving chase, Pikachu had slipped and fallen, completely soaking his fur.

Now, however, Marcus had called both him and Piplup out of their pokéballs. He was looking at them both very intently, his wrists on his hips.

The two pokémon exchanged glances before bringing their attention back to their trainer.

"Alright, you two..." Marcus said, leaning down slightly, "listen up. I wanted three pokémon before doing this, but I guess two will have to do. Now... I did some research on Roark."

Pikachu tilted his head in confusion.

"... The leader of the Oreburgh Gym."

Pikachu's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Anyway... I did research and have a strategy." He looked pointedly at Piplup. "... His first two pokémon are geodude and onix. Two pokémon who are doubly weak to your Bubble attack. Add to that the fact that you're water-type and you should be able to take them down. Think you can do that?"

Pikachu looked over at Piplup. The penguin hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

"And you..."

Pikachu looked up to see that Marcus was looking his way.

The boy continued. "You'll come in and defeat his cranidos, okay?"

Pikachu nodded enthusiastically. He had no idea what a cranidos was, but his trainer seemed to have faith that he could defeat it. He'd be sure to make him proud!

Straightening up, Marcus called both of them back into their pokéballs.

* * *

Piplup was not looking forward to this. Not at all.

Apparently, he had a massive type advantage over two of the gym leader's pokémon, but that didn't really help improve his mood.

"Are you sure you wish to take me on with only two pokémon?" he heard Roark ask.

"Yes," Marcus replied simply.

"Very well, then."

Piplup heard some movement outside of his pokéball. Oh no. They were getting into place, weren't they? He heaved a sigh to himself.

"Then send out your first pokémon!" Roark continued.

Marcus hummed in agreement. Piplup felt his pokéball move. Oh great.

"Piplup, go!"

His pokéball popped open, materialising him on the field in a flash of white light. He looked up, seeing the man opposite, who was wearing a hardhat. Huh. How odd.

The man threw a pokéball. "Geodude, you're up!"

In a flash of light, a boulder with two arms appeared on the field.

"Piplup, use Bubble!" Marcus called out.

Piplup charged up bubbles in his beak and fired them at Geodude. As always, they were about as slow as a slugma.

"Geodude, dodge!" Roark called out.

Piplup wasn't surprised when Geodude managed to evade his bubbles. It always happened, after all.

"Now use Stealth Rock!"

Sparkles appeared around Geodude, which then fired directly towards Piplup.

Piplup braced himself, preparing for pain. He really didn't like pain, but it was part and parcel when it came to trainers, unfortunately...

After a moment, the sparkles stopped in mid-air above him. Instead of hitting him, however, they criss-crossed over him and planted themselves in the ground around him. Then, with a flash of light, they grew into pointed boulders.

They looked so ominous, just sitting there. Piplup continued to watch them, but they didn't move any further.

Marcus growled. "Piplup, Bubble!"

Charging up more bubbles, Piplup waddled towards his opponent and fired another slow stream at him.

It actually hit Geodude in the face, causing him to grunt in pain.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Recovering, Geodude punched the ground, causing rocks to fly up from the impact point. They quickly fell back down again.

Piplup's eyes widened in horror.

"Piplup, dodge!"

He jumped around, trying his best to escape the falling rocks. One after another, they smashed into the ground around him.

When one hit the ground in front of him, he panicked and jumped back. His heel hit one of the fallen rocks and he fell over backwards with a yelp.

"Rock Throw again!"

Geodude punched the ground a second time, causing more rocks to fly upwards.

Piplup struggled to get up, desperately trying to roll into a sitting position. From there, he could maybe roll away or something, but he had to get up first!

Before he could manage it, a rock slammed into his face, knocking him back down. Owww! Immediately after, another one hit him in the chest and another on the feet.

Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. Good legends above, he hated battling so much...

"Piplup!" he heard Marcus call out. "Piplup!"

Yeah, yeah. Fight harder and all that jazz. Well, he'd try, but no guarantees he'd succeed.

Ah well. Even if he failed, it didn't matter. Marcus could chew him out all he wanted. He could handle it.

Pushing away the rocks one at a time, he huffed in fatigue as he finally got to his feet.

"Hmm," Roark said. "Your piplup is certainly tenacious, I'll give him that."

"Hmph," Marcus replied.

Granted, Piplup hadn't known his trainer all that long, but he knew what that huff meant. 'Too bad that's all he is.'

... Jerk.

Panting, Piplup tried to stay on his feet. Those three rocks had done a number on him. He wasn't going to last much longer, was he?

Strong in the mind, but certainly not the body. That was the sad truth.

Wait, was he glowing blue?

... Oh. Had Torrent really activated already? Wow, he was pathetic.

"Piplup, Bubble!"

Waddling towards Geodude, he fired off a stream of bubbles. They smacked him in the face, causing him to reel back in pain.

Seeing this caused a jolt of pride to hit him. He knew it probably wouldn't last, but he would take it while he had it. It felt quite good.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!"

"Bubble!"

While Geodude punched the ground a third time, Piplup fired off a fourth round of bubbles. They hit his opponent, causing another cry of pain. Unfortunately, attacking had left him open.

He was painfully bombarded with rocks, until his vision blacked out.


	4. Game Plan

Author's note: Hey, guys!

To whoever's reading this, you're a star. I know this is one of my less popular fics, but it's very fun to write, so I plan to continue. Plus, it's a nice break from my other fics.

Anyway, on with the story! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

 **Best mistake of the day:** 'he was back to fishing form.'

(I guess Pikachu's found a new career as a fisherman. Maybe they should make that an attraction in the PokéPark!)

* * *

 **Chapter Four** **: Game Plan**

From his pokéball, Pikachu had heard the entire fight. Oh dear. It seemed that Piplup had tried his best, but had fallen a bit short.

Ah well. He'd just have to do _his_ best to make up for it!

"Go, Pikachu!" Marcus called out.

His pokéball jolted, pulling him out and materialising him on the field. He looked around himself in intrigue. Wow, so this was what a gym looked like! Wait, why were there boulders around him? And why were they floating and glowing white?

Suddenly, they closed in on him at light speed and smashed into his body, exploding into dust on impact. He yelped in pain.

Owwww... Ow, ow, ow...

Somehow still standing, he panted, every inch of him of him stinging. Jeez, he was suddenly glad he wasn't weak to rock-type moves. That would've sucked.

He'd certainly never been hit by _that_ move before.

Glancing across the field, he saw his opponent. A geodude, who already seemed to be panting slightly.

Huh. Maybe Piplup had done a number on him, after all! All he had to do was finish him off!

... Though he was pretty sure that geodude were ground-type and ground-types were immune to electricity. He'd learned that the hard way once, when he'd battled a wooper. The darn thing had fooled him by being part water-type!

Either way, this ruled out his Thundershock. So all he had left was...

"Use Feint!"

Dashing forwards on command, Pikachu rammed his body into the geodude.

Ow. Headbutting a rock was rather painful.

"Geodude, Rock Throw!" Roark called out.

Geodude punched the ground, causing rocks to fly up into the air. They plummeted back down towards Pikachu.

"Pikachu, dodge it!"

Well, here was where he shined! He may not have been very fast at running, but he was pretty darn good at dodging!

Swiftly jumping from side to side, he avoided each rock as they crashed into the ground around him, one after another.

"Now Feint again!"

Dashing forwards again, he rammed into Geodude. Ow. Glancing up at him, he noticed that his opponent had barely flinched from the attack.

Welp.

He heard Marcus growl behind him. "... Thundershock!"

He blinked. What? Thundershock? Really? Well, he supposed Marcus _was_ the trainer...

Charging up electricity in his cheeks, he fired it towards Geodude. It certainly hit him, but it didn't look like it had done an ounce of damage. Geodude looked at him strangely.

"... You do know that Geodude's ground-type, right?" Roark asked. "Electric attacks won't work against him."

"I was just checking!" Marcus snapped.

"Hmph. Mind your tone. Geodude, Rock Throw!"

Once again, Geodude punched the ground, sending rocks into the air. As they fell back down, Pikachu prepared himself.

"Dodge it!"

No need to tell him twice! He jumped around the field, avoiding the rocks a second time.

"Now Feint!"

He rammed his head as hard as he could into Geodude. Owww... If he kept this up, he'd be seeing stars in no time.

Suddenly, Geodude crashed to the ground in front of him, groaning in pain.

"Geodude!" Roark called out in panic.

Wait, was he about to...?

"Feint!" Marcus screamed.

Dashing forwards again, he put all of his strength into his headbutt. The pain rang throughout his entire body, but it caused Geodude to roll backwards and hit the ground.

He'd... fainted?

... He'd fainted! Everything hurt, but he and Piplup had beaten the geodude! Together! He wanted to do a backflip and punch the sky to celebrate, but he was a bit too sore right now.

"Nicely done," Roark said, returning Geodude to his pokéball. He pressed a button to shrink it, then swapped it for another one. "But don't get too comfortable." He pressed a button to enlarge it, then threw it. "Onix, come out!"

There was a flash of white light. Once it cleared, a giant rock snake appeared before Pikachu, completely towering over him.

Oh dear.

... Wait, he was ground-type, too, wasn't he?

Ohhh dear.

"Pikachu, Feint!"

He ran forwards on Marcus' command, bracing his skull for impact. Slamming into the onix, he felt pain reverberate throughout his entire body.

Owww... He didn't think he could take much more of this.

"Onix, Screech!"

Bending down, Onix opened his mouth and let out an ear-piercing shriek. Pikachu cringed, suddenly feeling a lot more vulnerable.

"Feint!"

Again? He wasn't sure he could do it again.

Then again, he didn't have any other choice, did he? Dashing forwards, he rammed into the onix. He was going to have a monstrous bruise when he was done...

"Rock Throw!"

Onix swung his long tail, slamming it into the ground. Rocks flew high into the air, then immediately fell back down again.

"Dodge it!"

He... couldn't. He just couldn't. He tried, though. He jumped to the side, avoiding one rock, but wasn't fast enough to avoid the second. Or the five that followed.

After that, everything went black.

* * *

Sometime later, Pikachu felt refreshed. Wow, if only they'd had these 'pokémon centres' in the wild! They were so useful after a gruelling battle! All of his aches and pains had gone away and he was back to fighting form!

He wondered when they'd be taking the gym on again. After all, they needed to win Marcus that badge thing, right? And didn't Piplup say they needed eight of them? Would there be seven more gyms that were just as tough as Roark's?

That thought was both exciting and intimidating.

Suddenly, he felt himself being pulled from his pokéball. Materialising on the grass, he was surprised to see that Piplup had been called out, too.

"Alright, you two," Marcus said. He looked very irritated. "Go out and find me a grass-type. We're not going back to the gym until we get one on the team. Got it?"

Smiling, Pikachu nodded. Ah, so that was the plan, was it? Get a grass-type to make the battle easier!

Marcus pointed in a general direction. "Alright, go!"

Pikachu and Piplup ran off to find him a grass-type.

* * *

A while of searching later and Pikachu still hadn't found any grass-types. A few flying-types and bug-types, but those weren't what Marcus had asked for.

Eventually, he ran into Piplup, who had been searching elsewhere.

"Found anything?" Pikachu asked.

Piplup shook his head. "Nope," he replied. "Not a thing."

"Dang. Me neither."

Piplup heaved a sigh, then parted some tall grass to look inside it.

Pikachu did the same. He found nothing.

Shrugging, he turned to smile in Piplup's direction. "Oh, great job in the gym battle, by the way!"

Instead of looking at him, Piplup continued to rummage around in the grass. "Mmm. Thanks."

"You did really well."

"Hmm. You too."

"We'll get 'em next time, I'm sure!"

Piplup stopped what he was doing, heaving a sigh. After a moment, he turned to Pikachu.

"Look, I know I did awful, okay?"

Pikachu blinked. "Huh? No, that's not what I said."

Piplup sighed again, softer this time. "I know, but... well, I did awful. That geodude had a double weakness against me... plus, I had a same type attack bonus... and I still lost."

"... Well..."

"I've always been awful. The whole time I've been with Marcus, I don't think I've gotten any stronger."

"... Really?"

"Yeah." Piplup shrugged. "In theory, I should've destroyed that geodude... but I didn't. I couldn't."

"Well... that's okay!" Pikachu smiled. "Like I said, we'll get 'em next time!"

Piplup heaved another sigh. "... You just don't get it. I try, but it's never enough." He kicked the dirt beneath his feet. "It's frustrating."

"Well, you'll get better!"

"No, I won't." Piplup paused a moment. "... You remember the breeding centre I talked about?"

"Yeah?"

"The other piplup used to pick on me all the time for being weak."

Pikachu's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. They'd call me pathetic and stupid and... I didn't have any friends."

Pikachu's smile dipped. "No friends?"

Piplup shook his head. "Nope. Though I did have my breeder, Albert. He'd tell me all sorts of cool stories."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. Of when he used to be a trainer. He told me about all the places he'd been to, all the things he'd seen." Piplup's eyes shone with wonder. "I wanted that. To see the world. To go where _he'd_ been. That's why I was really looking forward to getting a trainer. So _I_ could travel, too!"

Pikachu perked up as he heard this. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!" Piplup paused. "Buuuut then I ended up with Marcus... and Marcus only really cares about the battling."

"Oh..."

Piplup shrugged. "But hey, at least I'm travelling, right?" He smiled. "It's better than nothing!"

Pikachu smiled back.

Gosh, Piplup could be so negative. It was nice that the penguin could find some good amongst the bad, but he wished his friend was happier.

Well, he'd just have to keep doing his best to _make_ him happy!

"Ho there!" a voice suddenly called out. "You looking for something?"

Mildly surprised, Pikachu turned in the direction he'd heard the voice. Standing by a tree some distance away, he saw a budew smiling at him.

... Wait! A budew!

He beamed. Time to make good on that promise to himself!

He got on all fours, battle-ready. "Yeah and I just found it! I challenge you to a battle!"

The budew blinked. Then he smirked. "Ooh, is that so?"

Pikachu smirked back. "Yep... and, if I win, you let my trainer catch you. Deal?"

"Oh yeah? Hmm... well, I did always want a trainer..." The budew pondered it for a moment. "... You know what? Sure." He took on a battle stance. "Have at you!"

"And you!" Pikachu dashed forwards.

* * *

Piplup waddled as fast as his plump body could carry him over to where Marcus was waiting. As he approached, the boy looked down at him, wearing the same frown he always did.

"What?" he asked. "Did you find a grass-type?"

Piplup nodded enthusiastically.

Marcus' eyes widened in surprise. "You did?"

Piplup nodded again.

"Where?!"

Piplup pointed in the direction that Pikachu was currently fighting the budew. With any luck, he was winning. Though, knowing the mouse and how strong he was, he probably _was_ winning.

Grabbing an empty pokéball and enlarging it, Marcus went running in the direction he'd pointed.

With a sigh, Piplup waddled after him.

* * *

Panting, Pikachu released another Thundershock, electrocuting the budew. Wow, the little guy had put up quite a fight! He'd drained a lot of energy from him and was hanging in there, but he had him on the ropes now!

Dashing forwards with Feint, he rammed his body into the budew, knocking him over. The budew lay there, motionless.

At that moment, Marcus ran onto the scene, pokéball in hand. The moment he saw the budew, his eyes lit up. In hope. In relief. In... happiness? It made Pikachu's heart leap.

Without wasting any time, Marcus threw the pokéball. It soared through the air, striking the budew. Turning him into red energy, it sucked him inside and landed on the grass. As it sat there, it wobbled to and fro.

Pikachu frowned at it, silently pleading for the budew to stay inside it. After all, he'd won the battle, right? And the budew had promised to be caught if he won.

It wobbled a few more times. Eventually, the red light on it turned off and it went still.

... Had it worked?

Silently, Marcus walked forwards. Stopping by the pokéball, he knelt down and picked it up. He stared disbelievingly at it.

"... I got a grass-type," he muttered. He glanced down at Pikachu. "... Good job, Pikachu."

Pikachu beamed up at his trainer.

Piplup waddled over to stand next to Marcus, smiling happily at Pikachu. He also congratulated him. Pikachu beamed at him, as well.

Standing on two feet, he walked over to Piplup and lifted up his paw. He held it there.

Piplup looked at it curiously for a moment. Then he seemed to get it.

Smiling, he lifted up a flipper and gave Pikachu a high-five. Neither of them could stop beaming afterwards.


	5. Switch it Up

Author's note: Hey, bros!

Coming at'cha with another update! Hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter Five** **: Switch it Up**

The next day, Marcus approached the gym again. He'd already briefed the team on his new strategy, so, with any luck, they would win this time!

Inside his pokéball, Pikachu listened intently as Marcus entered the building. After a short while, a voice spoke.

"Back again, are we?" Roark asked.

"Yes," Marcus replied simply.

"Here to challenge me again?"

"Yes."

"Very well, then." Roark paused a moment. "Oh, but first. Do you know a boy called Manny?"

There was a heavy silence.

Roark continued. "Blue hair? Pointy teeth?"

"... Yes, I know him. Why?"

"He came in here yesterday. Completely destroyed my team using a buizel and a carnivine... and, before he left, he told me to tell you 'hi' when I saw you again."

Pikachu's eyes widened. Manny had already blazed through here and gotten his badge thing? With a water-type and a grass-type, no less!

Marcus said nothing for a while.

"... Thanks," he eventually replied through gritted teeth.

Oh dear. That certainly wasn't going to help his trainer's mood...

Well, Pikachu and his team were just gonna have to do their hardest to turn that frown upside-down!

* * *

It was time to put plan 'Go in weak' into action!

First up on the field was Piplup. It was his job to weaken Geodude just enough for Budew to take over, finish him off and then work on Onix.

Pikachu listened intently from his pokéball.

He couldn't see anything that was happening, but he heard a lot of yelling. A lot of Bubbles and Rock Throws, plus one Stealth Rock.

From the sounds of things, it seemed that Geodude had remembered Piplup's attack patterns from the day before and was avoiding them easier. That could pose a problem.

When Piplup eventually fainted, Geodude was still on the field. Then Marcus called out Budew.

Immediately, the grass-type was bombarded with Stealth Rock.

Due to Marcus' briefing, Pikachu knew what that move did now, but it didn't make it any easier to deal with.

The battle raged on, with Budew continually using Growth and Absorb. From what Pikachu could hear, Budew wasn't very fast, so dodging was rather difficult for him. He seemed to make up for it in power, though, as Geodude eventually fainted.

Then in came Onix.

What followed was a battle of Screech and Rock Throw versus Growth and Absorb. Budew did rather well, continuously sapping his opponent's energy to heal himself. At the same time, Onix continually lowered his defenses before pummeling him with rocks. Each attack tiring the grass-type out even more and making it harder to fight back.

He went down before Onix did.

When Pikachu was called out, he, too, was hit by the Stealth Rock. It hurt about as much as it had the last time.

Trying to brush off the pain, he got to work.

The battle was long and arduous. Once again, he had no other choice but to use Feint over and over again, in the vain hope that it would work. The pain in his skull increased with every hit. That, on top of the Screeches and Rock Throws, proved to be too much.

At least Onix had gone down with him.

* * *

After a trip to the pokémon centre, Pikachu, Piplup and Budew were all called out of their pokéballs. Marcus scowled down at them.

"Alright, you three," he said, "we're going in again."

Pikachu blinked. Again? So soon after their loss?

"And, this time," he continued, "we're trying a different strategy." He looked at Piplup, scowling deeper. "Last time, we went in weak." He turned to look at Budew. "This time, we'll go in strong."

Pikachu nodded along as the plan was laid out for them. Budew also looked intrigued, though Piplup seemed less than enthused.

* * *

As they'd planned, Budew started them off.

Pikachu heard another cry for Stealth Rock, which was followed by many more cries of Rock Throw, Growth and Absorb.

Eventually, Geodude went down. Then out came Onix.

From what Pikachu could tell, Budew had used Growth as much as he'd been able to. Now it was a question of whether or not he could defeat Onix.

The problem was, he sounded tired.

Screech, followed by Rock Throw. Absorb after Absorb. Pikachu held his breath.

Then Budew went down.

Out came Piplup, who was hit by the Stealth Rock. Onix was fairly weak now, so maybe they'd stand a chance!

Bubble. Screech. Bubble. Rock Throw. It was a constant back and forth, with lots of dodging on both sides. Despite Onix's size, it seemed he was fairly nimble on the battlefield.

More nimble than Piplup, it seemed. Several Screeches, Rock Throws and missed Bubbles later, the penguin went down. Now it was Pikachu's turn.

Appearing on the field, he expected the Stealth Rock that followed. After that, he got to work on using Feint.

Again. Again. Again. He kept at it until his skull started hurting. Even through all of the Screeches and Rock Throws. He wanted this plan to work! It _had_ to work! Marcus was depending on him to _make_ it work!

Eventually, Onix went down. Pikachu panted, very sore, yet pleased with himself. This was the first time they'd made it to Roark's third pokémon!

"Cranidos, you're up!" Roark called out.

A small dinosaur materialised on the field, glaring at Pikachu menacingly. Okay. All he had to do was beat this one and the badge thing would be theirs, right?

"Pikachu, Thundershock!" Marcus called out.

Pikachu blinked. Oh yeah! This one wasn't ground-type, was he? He beamed. Building up electricity in his cheeks, he fired it towards Cranidos.

"Dodge and use Leer!"

Avoiding the electric attack, Cranidos' glare intensified, his eyes glowing red. Pikachu suddenly felt a lot more vulnerable.

"Pikachu, Thundershock!"

Pushing past his aches and pains from the previous fight, Pikachu ran towards Cranidos, charging up electricity. Unleashing it, he managed to hit his opponent with it. Cranidos cried out in pain.

It had worked! It had actually worked!

"Use Pursuit!"

Glowing dark purple, Cranidos lunged towards Pikachu. Too close, Pikachu was unable to dodge. The dinosaur slammed into him, knocking him backwards. He hit the rocky ground and slid along it.

"Get up and use Thundershock!"

Slowly pushing himself to his aching feet, he fired off some more electricity.

"Dodge it!"

Jumping to the side, Cranidos managed to avoid his attack.

Roark continued. "Now Headbutt!"

Cranidos ran towards him at great speed, his head lowered and ready.

Pikachu took one glance at it. It looked hard. Solid. Painful.

Oh dear.

"Dodge it!"

He moved a bit too late. Cranidos' skull smashed into his side. With a cry of pain, he was flung to the floor again. He rolled and rolled, until he came to a stop.

As his vision started to fade, he caught sight of Marcus. The boy was curling his fingers into claws and screaming in primal rage.

Unable to stay conscious any longer, Pikachu blacked out.

* * *

Once everyone had been taken to the pokémon centre to heal, Pikachu felt himself being pulled from his pokéball. As he materialised outside, he saw that Piplup and Budew were there, too. Were they about to get another briefing?

"Alright, you three," Marcus said curtly. Pikachu looked up to see the sour expression on his trainer's face. "Go out and get me another water-type."

Pikachu blinked. Another one?

Marcus glanced off to the side. "Maybe they'll be by the river, or something. I dunno, just get me one."

Suddenly understanding, Pikachu smiled. Oh, of course! Another water-type would greatly help them with their plan! Then Marcus would have two water-types and one grass-type for the gym!

Aww. Then that would mean no battling for Pikachu. It was a shame, but it had to be done to win, he supposed. Feint wasn't much good against Geodude and Onix and Thundershock was no use at all. He was only of use against Cranidos, but, even then, another water-type would be much more practical.

With this new plan, they'd win that badge thing in no time!

With a nod, the three of them set off on their quest.

* * *

Pikachu wandered along the river, continually checking his surroundings for any water-types. The clear water ran smoothly along the banks, washing over any rocks in its path.

Looking up, he could see Budew and Piplup some distance away, also checking the area for water-types. Budew looked keenly interested in finding one, whereas Piplup was frowning slightly as he searched.

Aww. He hoped the penguin wasn't too upset about his losses at the gym. He'd really tried his hardest and had done fairly well! Pikachu was the one who had lost the match for everyone, being the last one out and Marcus' final resort. If the final resort failed, then it let the whole team down.

He wouldn't let it get him down, though! He was going to find his trainer a second water-type, no matter what!

It was proving very difficult to make Marcus smile, but, if winning this badge thing would do it, then he would make it happen!

"I found one!" Budew suddenly called out. "Dudes, I found one!"

Perking up, Pikachu ran with a smile over to where Budew was. He saw Piplup doing the same.

As they approached, Pikachu saw a pink shellos taking a drink from the river.

Budew stepped forwards on his stubby legs. "Shellos!" he called out. "I challenge you to a battle!"

The shellos slowly opened her eyes, looking at them, but didn't stop drinking.

"Do you accept?!" Budew continued.

After a moment, the shellos lifted her head, shaking the water from her lips. "... Alright, fine," she replied.

Budew beamed. "Alright, neat!" He gave a determined frown. "Alright, so... rules! If I win, you let our trainer catch you!"

"... And if _I_ win?"

"... Then... he doesn't?"

She huffed. "... Alright, fine."

"Great! Then have at you!"

* * *

Pikachu watched the battle excitedly, cheering on his teammate. He watched as Budew attacked with Growth and Absorb, while Shellos countered with Mud-Slap and Water Pulse.

In a confused state from the latest Water Pulse, Budew fired Absorb in the wrong direction, causing a slight smile of pride to appear on Shellos' face.

Pikachu was so excited! This water-type was clearly powerful, so, if they managed to win and Marcus caught her, then the badge thing would easily be theirs! He kept cheering his teammate on, hoping so much that it would happen.

Eventually, Budew snapped out of his confusion and went back on the offensive. Neither opponent was very good at dodging, it seemed, as they were both quite slow, but they certainly made up for it in power.

He watched the continuous back and forth, grass-type versus water-type. It raged on for a while longer, both of them looking fatigued.

When they finally stopped fighting, they stared each other down, panting in exhaustion.

The first one to fall was Shellos.

Pikachu did a backflip, punching the sky in joy. "You did it, Budew!" he cried. "Way to go!"

"It was... nothing..." Budew wheezed, before collapsing to the ground.

"Oh! Oh! Wait here and I'll go and get Marcus!"

Pikachu was practically buzzing as he ran off to find his trainer.

* * *

With Marcus hot on his heels, Pikachu ran towards the part of the river where their new catch was. Once he got there, he skidded to a stop beside Piplup. Shellos was lying on the grass, conscious, yet battered and bruised. She was looking up at the two newcomers expectantly.

As Marcus got a pokéball ready, Pikachu looked back at Shellos. She was making no move to get up, so it looked like she was going to hold up her end of the bargain.

He beamed. Sweet!

"And this is a good one, is it?" Marcus asked hurriedly.

Pikachu turned to him, nodding happily.

"Alright. Pokéball, go!"

Marcus threw the pokéball and it soared across the area, striking Shellos on the head. With a flash of red, it sucked her inside. Landing on the ground, it wobbled to and fro.

Pikachu stared at it, willing it to stop moving. After a few moments, the red light went out and it lay motionless.

He went back to beaming. They'd done it! They'd caught a second water-type! Now there was no way they'd lose against Roark again!

He was so happy! He looked up at Marcus, who'd walked over to pick up his pokéball, to see if he was just as happy. He was delighted to see that a real smile was on his trainer's face. Granted, it wasn't a beaming smile, but it was still a smile! In fact, it looked more like a satisfied smirk.

He gave his congratulations to his trainer.

"Heh," Marcus replied, before putting the pokéball away. He pulled out another one and called back Budew. "Good job, Budew."

Putting that one away, his hand hovered in thought for a moment. Then he pulled out another pokéball. He pressed a button on it, one different from the usual.

Pikachu was surprised to see a light blue glow surround Piplup for a moment, then it went away. What the heck had that been?

Piplup blinked, looking up at their trainer. Confused, Pikachu also looked up at Marcus. The boy was frowning down at his starter.

"I'm letting you go, Piplup," he said.

... Huh?

... Wait, what?!


	6. A Friend Indeed

Author's note: Hey again!

Time to get you off last chapter's cliffhanger with some more not-quite-yet-at-PokéPark!

Hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter Six** **: A Friend Indeed**

Piplup stared up at Marcus in shock. In disbelief. He was letting him go?

Marcus folded his arms, still glaring down at him. "I think you know why," he said.

Once the shock wore off, Piplup's expression melted into a frown as he lowered his head. So Marcus was really letting him go? He should've figured this would happen. It had looked a bit fishy when they'd been looking for a second water-type...

Well, it was to be expected, he supposed. After all, he'd never been able to live up to his trainer's expectations the entire time he'd been on his team.

He'd lost every battle, failed to catch him a pokémon and, when he'd most needed him to win in a gym battle - when he'd most heavily relied on him - he'd failed in a spectacular fashion.

He supposed this was bound to happen sooner or later.

Marcus could have left him with Professor Rowan, instead, but that would pose two problems. First, he'd have to explain to the professor why he was leaving his starter behind. Second, leaving him there implied he intended to use him again later.

He had a feeling Marcus never wanted to use him again. Especially now that he had Shellos.

"So, go on." Marcus waved in a general direction. "Get going."

'Yeah, great, thanks', he wanted to say in response. Being raised in a breeding centre, he'd had no experience whatsoever in the wild. He doubted Marcus either knew or cared about that, though.

... Well, he was certainly strong-willed, so he could probably figure it out, he supposed. Like he had a choice in the matter...

When the penguin continued to stall, Marcus huffed out a sigh. "Look, _I_ don't like _you_ and _you_ don't like _me_. I wanna battle, but you clearly don't wanna get any stronger. I wanna win gym badges, but you don't wanna help me. It makes the most sense if you just leave. Then you can do whatever you want. Train as little as you want. Be as useless as you want."

Piplup's frown deepened. While he couldn't deny that he was useless as a battle partner, it wasn't like Marcus had tried very hard to train him, either.

What did the guy want? Miracles?

"So just leave."

Huffing in response, Piplup turned on his heel to leave.

Suddenly, a yellow blur dashed in front of him. Then he felt a weight against his chest. Blinking, he saw it was Pikachu. The mouse was holding his paws against him, urging him not to leave.

... What?

"... What are you doing, Pikachu?" Marcus asked. Piplup could hear the frown in his tone.

Pikachu looked up at his trainer with a smile, though it wasn't as bright as it normally was. He shook his head lightly.

Marcus huffed. "No, I don't intend to keep him. I think he and I would be happier if we both went our separate ways."

... Piplup supposed that was true. He'd never really _liked_ Marcus, after all. The guy was a grouch.

Pikachu shook his head harder, then smiled wider. He started to ramble about friendship and caring and how the team would work better if they all stuck together, so Marcus shouldn't get rid of Piplup, because he was Pikachu's friend, and two water-types on the team were better than one, anyway.

Piplup stared at him.

Eventually, the mouse stopped rambling. He blinked, then smiled sheepishly as he realised that Marcus had understood nothing he'd just said.

"... Look, whatever you said, I'm not keeping him. He'll only drag the team down, so no."

Piplup sighed. He made a motion with his flipper for Pikachu to stand aside, so he could leave. He told him it was okay. He'd cope just fine on his own.

Pikachu shook his head again. He ran past Piplup and stood behind him. Confused, Piplup turned around.

His eyes widened when he saw that Pikachu was holding out his arms defensively.

Marcus was scowling at him. "What are you doing, Pikachu?" He growled, pulling out a pokéball. "Enough of this. We're leaving now."

Pikachu shook his head. He gestured at Piplup, then at himself several times, then made a cross with his arms.

Marcus blinked in confusion. Then his eyes lit up in shock. "What? It's... either both of you or neither? Is that what you're saying?"

Pikachu nodded.

Panic and confusion rose up in Piplup. No. No, no, no, no! He ran in front of Pikachu, waving his flippers madly. He was not about to let this happen. No way!

Smiling warmly at him, Pikachu shook his head. He looked expectantly up at Marcus.

"... You've gotta be kidding me."

Pikachu shook his head, the smile never leaving his face.

"... So it's all or nothing, is it?"

Pikachu nodded.

Marcus stared back in silence for a while. Piplup kept shaking his head at Pikachu, but the mouse paid him no mind.

Eventually, Marcus heaved a sigh. "... Alright, fine. I wanted to keep you, but..."

He fiddled around with something. Then a blue glow appeared around Pikachu. The mouse looked slightly surprised at the sensation.

Piplup's eyes widened in horror as the blue glow faded away again. No...

"... There. Now _you're_ free, too."

Piplup spun around, desperately telling Marcus to take back his decision.

Marcus looked at him. "What? It isn't _my_ fault this is what he wanted." Dipping his head, the boy pocketed his empty pokéball and turned around. "... Well... bye, I guess."

Piplup held out a flipper to him, begging him not to leave. Marcus ignored him, running off into the distance.

Slowly, with wide eyes, Piplup turned to face Pikachu. The mouse was gently waving goodbye to Marcus with a sad smile.

"Wh... Wh..." Piplup said. "What were you thinking?!"

Pikachu blinked at him. "Huh?"

"You can't just get yourself released! He wanted to keep you!"

"Yeah, but he didn't wanna keep _you_ , so..."

"That doesn't matter! I don't need _you_ getting released, as well!"

Pikachu smiled a little awkwardly. "Well, honestly, I didn't think he _would_ release us both, so... whoops!"

Piplup stared at him in disbelief.

Pikachu continued, his smile getting less awkward. "It's okay, though. I joined in the first place because of _you_ , remember?"

Piplup faltered slightly. "Well, yeah, but... still... why did you do it?"

"Huh? Well, because we're friends!"

Piplup blinked. "... But... you barely know me, though..."

"That doesn't matter! You're still my friend! And I'd never abandon a friend."

This comment gave Piplup pause.

Pikachu continued. "I couldn't let you be alone... and I like you much more than Marcus, so it was a no-brainer, really! If it's either you or him, then I'd choose you any day!"

Piplup stared at him, feeling touched. Wow. No one had ever said such kind things to him before. It was strange and unfamiliar, yet it made a warmth build in his chest.

Pikachu continued. "Besides, didn't you wanna travel? Well, we can travel _together_ now! See all the places, meet all the pokémon... whatever you like! It's better than doing it alone, right? Especially since you've... never lived in the wild, right?"

"R-Right..."

"Yeah, exactly! So, what do you think? Do you wanna?"

Piplup blinked. Then blinked again. Pikachu had considered all of this while defending him? While trying to change Marcus' mind?

All of the throwaway comments he'd made about his past and his dreams had actually _stuck_ with the mouse?

He felt the warmth increase as a smile made its way onto his beak. "Yeah, sure... sounds great."

Pikachu beamed at him. "Great!"

* * *

Piplup couldn't believe it. He was actually travelling! Granted, it was without a trainer and on foot, but he was still travelling. Heck, maybe it'd even be better this way. It certainly meant less battling.

Plus, it felt oddly liberating being able to do things his own way.

He glanced to the side, noticing that Pikachu had a bright smile on his face. He still couldn't believe what the mouse had done for his sake, but perhaps it was a blessing. He didn't have to explore the world alone, figuring things out along the way.

... Speaking of which...

"So, uh..." he said.

Pikachu turned towards him. "Hmm?" he asked.

"Since I'm gonna be doing it from now on, uh..." He glanced around at the grassland they were passing. "How do I live like a wild pokémon?"

"Oh, that's easy! First, you find a nice place to settle down and, then, you build a nest! I built mine out of twigs and leaves and kept in a nice, dry area that's out of the way!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah and-" Pikachu stopped and blinked. After a moment, he smiled sheepishly. "Oh, whoops. That only works if you plan to stay in one place, like I did." He smiled genuinely again. "Well, I guess we'll just make temporary nests!" He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Hmm... maybe we could just bunk down wherever? I've never made temporary nests before..."

"Huh. Okay then."

"Heh. I wonder if someone's taken my nest by now."

"Taken it?"

"Yeah. I kinda abandoned it when I joined Marcus' team... and, well... usually, if a nest gets left alone long enough, someone else will take it."

Piplup's eyes widened in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind. It's not like I'll be needing it anymore!"

"I guess so..."

Suddenly, Piplup's stomach growled. It was then he realised that he hadn't eaten for a while.

Pikachu's face lit up in realisation. "Oh! Right, food and stuff! Well, there are plenty of berries around to eat... and they grow pretty quickly, so never be shy about grabbing what you need. Mago berries are _my_ favourite and there used to be a big bush of them right where I lived. Hopefully, I can find some more."

"Alright."

"And water, well, water's all around! I usually go to the nearest river for a drink, 'cause they're usually so clean and fresh." Pikachu beamed. "There's nothing like a cold drink of water and a mago berry in a morning!"

"Huh, well, if you say so." Piplup paused. "I've only ever really eaten pellets."

"Well, then, are you in for a treat! You said you have no particular favourites, right?"

Piplup nodded in response.

Pikachu continued. "Well, then, just grab any berry you see and have at it!"

"Well, alright, then." Piplup paused again. "So, when _you_ were in the wild, did you live by yourself?"

"Yep! Well, not at first. First, I lived with my mom and dad, then, when I was old enough, I moved out and lived alone."

"... Did it ever get lonely?"

"Nahhh. I was making friends all the time, so I was never really alone."

Piplup blinked in surprise. "Oh."

He had to admit, the wild life didn't sound all that bad, from what Pikachu had been saying. Perhaps he'd like it a lot more than he'd thought.

... Especially since he had such a nice friend to hang out with. One who knew his way around the forest. That was certainly a bonus.

* * *

"Here we go!" Pikachu said as he pointed nearby.

Looking where he was pointing, Piplup saw a bush that was covered in blue dots. Next to it was a bush covered in smaller red dots.

Pikachu pointed to the one with blue dots. "This one's a chesto berry bush!" He pointed to the one with red dots. "This one's a cheri berry bush! Pick whichever one you like!"

"Oh, uh..." Piplup replied, looking between each one, "I guess I'll try the... chesto berry?"

"Okay then! I don't really like 'em, cause they're dry and... well, I'm not a fan of dry food... but I think _you'll_ like 'em!"

Piplup stepped forward and plucked one off the bush. "We'll see, I guess."

"Yeah!" Pikachu went to the other bush and plucked off two cheri berries. "Hey, do you wanna try one of these, too?" He nodded towards the cheri berries.

Piplup shrugged. "Yeah, sure." He moved forwards. Holding the chesto berry in one flipper, he reached out with the other and plucked off a cheri berry. "Kay."

"Great! Shall we find a place to sit?"

Piplup shrugged again. "Yeah, sure. I'll sit wherever."

"Okay! Then let's go..." Pikachu paused, briefly looking around. " _This_ way!"

"Alright, lead the way."

* * *

Sitting in the shade of a tree near a flowing river, Piplup took a bite of his chesto berry.

His eyes widened as he chewed it. Wow, Pikachu had been right. This tasted so much better than pellets!

Finishing it off with several more crunches, he turned to see Pikachu smiling at him.

"What do you think?" the mouse asked.

The penguin smiled back. "It's good. _Really_ good."

"I _thought_ you'd like it! What about the cheri berry?"

Piplup bit into the red berry and chewed in intrigue. A lovely spicy taste washed across his tongue, burning the inside of his mouth.

Wow. The flavour was so exotic! So much more intense than any pellet he'd ever eaten.

He swallowed. "Wow."

"Good, isn't it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, it really is."

* * *

After their food, the duo continued on their walk. Piplup had to admit, it was very relaxing. The air was fresh, the scenery was beautiful and, most importantly, there was no Marcus.

It was a shame that he'd lost the only trainer he'd ever had, but hey ho. That was just how it was.

* * *

Sometime later, the sky began to turn orange as the sun started to set.

Pikachu glanced up at the sky. "Oh!" he said in surprise. "Looks like it's nearly night-time. Guess we better work on a nest, or something!"

Piplup shrugged. "Yeah, I guess... though we could always sleep out in the open."

Honestly, he was curious about what it was like to sleep under the stars. He'd never done it before.

"Uh... well... I wouldn't recommend it." Pikachu laughed rather awkwardly. "Come on, let's... find a good spot to bunk down, okay?"

Piplup raised an eyebrow. "Well, if you say so."

"Yeah. Yeah, 'cause... well, you never know what'll happen if you just sleep in the middle of a field! A wild, territorial pokémon could attack you... like beedrill or ursaring, those things are _really_ territorial... or a trainer could sneak up and catch you, or something!"

Piplup's eyes widened. "Oh... Well, then, I guess that makes sense."

"Yeah. Yeah! So we need to build a nest. Only a temporary one, but still!" He paused, looking around. "Okay..." After a moment, he nodded. "Alright, I'll get the twigs and leaves and you can find us a good place to bunk down." He beamed. "Kay?"

Piplup nodded. "Kay."

* * *

Once they'd found everything they needed, Piplup and Pikachu settled down in their makeshift nest, inside of a really thick bush.

It was so thick that Piplup couldn't really see the sky, but oh well. He'd cope.

Relaxing, he smiled to himself. Would every day be like this from now on? Travelling around, eating delicious food, enjoying such pleasant company and seeing such lovely sights?

If so, then life was looking pretty good right now.


	7. Road Trip

Author's note: I return! Hey there!

... You know, I won't lie. I never expected people to like Marcus. XD Or sympathise with him, but especially not like him. That one threw me for a bit of a loop. But hey ho. Stuff happens!

Anyways, hope you enjoy the chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter Seven** **: Road Trip**

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast, the duo got rid of their temporary nest and headed out on the road again.

As he walked, Pikachu smiled up at the bright, blue sky above him. "You know, it's kinda nice being wild again," he said.

"Oh yeah?" Piplup asked from beside him.

"Yeah." He turned to smile at the penguin. "Having a trainer was pretty fun, though! It's a shame I didn't get to earn any badge things, though." He paused, then chuckled. "Whoops, I said 'though' twice."

"Heh. Well, you didn't _have_ to leave. Like I said, he didn't wanna get rid of _you_ , so you could've stayed." Piplup put his flippers behind his head as he walked. "Heck, if you'd learned a few new moves, you'd have been super useful to him."

"Maybe... but, like _I_ said, I couldn't just leave you alone." Pikachu beamed. "We're a team now! Trainer or no! So we're gonna stick together, okay?"

A small smirk worked its way onto Piplup's beak. "Well, if you say so. Still, you left home 'cause of me... left a team 'cause of me... then started travelling 'cause of me. You sure you're alright with all that?"

"Course I am!" Pikachu twirled around in a circle as he walked. "What's life without a little spice, right?"

Piplup chuckled. "Right."

Continuing his walk, Pikachu looked up at the sky again. "Still... might've been nice to earn one of those badge things. What do they even look like?"

"Heck if _I_ know. I got just as far as _you_ did."

"True." Pikachu paused in thought. "... Say, do you think Marcus will be alright with just Budew and Shellos?"

"Eh, he's probably fine. Maybe. Though I don't really care, to be honest."

"Hm. It's a shame he got rid of us. I thought we were doing pretty well in that gym."

"... Seriously? What battle were _you_ watching? We got clobbered."

Pikachu turned to face Piplup, who was looking at him in disbelief. His flippers were still behind his head.

"Well, sure, but we could've improved! We just needed a bit more training and then we would've had 'em, easy!"

Piplup shrugged. "Yeah, but that would require Marcus actually putting in some effort."

Pikachu blinked. "Well..."

Piplup looked up at the sky in thought. "Still, though... I would've thought Budew would have helped us out. If there was any chance of getting that stupid badge, he was probably it."

"Yeah, well, he tried his best, right?"

Piplup looked back at him, raising an eyebrow. "The guy had Growth _and_ Absorb and he still fainted. How does that even work, now that I think about it?"

Pikachu blinked again. Glancing away, he frowned in thought. "Hmmmm..." After a few moments, his face lit up as he came up with something. "Ah!" Looking back at Piplup, he smiled. "Well, he was pretty strong, but I guess not strong _enough_. Like... maybe the Absorb wasn't healing him up fully? Man, in that case, Onix must've been really strong..."

"Even _with_ the extreme weakness?"

"Must be! I mean, _you_ weren't able to-" Pikachu paused, then laughed awkwardly. "Oh, well, you know!"

Piplup rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"Yeah, well... maybe if he'd been a roselia... or especially a roserade... he'd have taken him down, no problem! But I guess, as a budew, he couldn't take all that many hits yet."

Piplup heaved a sigh. "Yeah, figures we'd find the weakest grass-type in the area." He paused. "Though, hey, it led to me being free, so there's that."

Pikachu beamed at him. "Yeah! So it was a win-win, I'd say!"

"Yeah. Marcus gets stronger pokémon and I get to be outta his hair. Win-win."

"Yep!"

* * *

A few days went by, where Piplup continued to travel with Pikachu. It was so incredibly liberating, wandering around without a pokéball. Every day, he appreciated it that little bit more. He had no idea where they were going, since they'd wandered off in a completely different direction to Oreburgh City, but that didn't matter. Anywhere was better than where Marcus was.

Along their travels to who-knows-where, Pikachu had greeted any pokémon he'd come across with a smile. Even challenged a few to battles. Piplup, himself, had opted to stay out of those, though he didn't mind watching.

As he put away the last of the twigs and leaves that had made up last night's nest, he looked at the empty space with pride. It seemed he was finally getting used to living like a wild pokémon. Getting food, making nests...

He was living the free life. He smiled to himself.

"Hey," Pikachu suddenly said. Piplup turned to him and saw the mouse looking contemplative. "You said you lived with a lot of other piplup, right?"

"Yeah?" he replied.

Pikachu smiled sheepishly. "Well, I can't remember if I asked if you wanna go home or not." He paused. "... Do you?"

Piplup blinked at him. After a moment, he sighed. "No, I don't. They used to pick on me, remember?"

Pikachu blinked back. "What, _all_ of them?"

"Pretty much."

"... And what about Albert?"

Piplup paused a long moment. He glanced away in thought. "... Well... I'll miss Albert... but he expected me to leave him for a trainer, anyway, so..." He huffed. "There isn't much difference." He turned back to Pikachu, giving him a small smile. "There isn't much to go back to."

Pikachu's ears dipped ever-so slightly. "Oh..."

Piplup waved a flipper dismissively. "Don't worry about it, though. I'll be fine." He gave a bigger, more reassuring smile. "I have _you_ now, anyway! You're much better than the other piplup."

Pikachu's ears sprang back up and he gave a hopeful smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. You're actually nice and don't make fun of me for having a weak Bubble attack." He paused. "Thanks for that, by the way."

Pikachu beamed brighter. "Oh, no problem! I think you're pretty cool, either way, so it's fine!"

Piplup gave a small smirk. "Heh. You're way too praising, you know that?"

Pikachu blinked. "I am?"

"A little."

Pikachu chuckled sheepishly. "Well, you know! I just wanna let my friend know he's appreciated! Is that so wrong?"

"Heh. No, no, it's not wrong at all." Piplup paused again. "Thanks."

"No problem!"

* * *

A few more days later, Pikachu and Piplup were standing on a small hill, overlooking a nearby town.

"Wow!" Pikachu said excitedly. He beamed at Piplup. "Guess we're gonna pass through _there_ next! I've never been through a town without a trainer! This'll be fun!"

Piplup's eyes widened in wonder. "Yeah..." he replied, awestruck.

Suddenly, Pikachu gasped. "I'll bet there's a _ton_ of trainers in there, too!" He turned back to the town, frowning determinedly. "I can't wait to battle them all!"

Piplup paused. He looked back over at the town. Bustling with trainers, eh?

"... Hmm."

"Hmm? What's wrong?"

Piplup folded his arms, deep in thought. "Well... I really wanna see the town, but, if you're gonna challenge everyone in there... there's a chance you'll get caught again."

Pikachu's eyes widened slightly. "Oh, I... didn't think of that."

"Yeah. If you get caught, I guess I'll be on my own."

"Oh..."

Piplup huffed. "Though, if you really wanna risk it, I won't stop you. If you _do_ get caught, well... I think I've learned enough to live alone now."

Pikachu glanced over at the town. Then back at Piplup. Then back over at the town. He stared at it.

After a moment, the mouse nodded to himself, then looked back at Piplup with a smile. "No, you're right. I promised I'd stick with you, so that's exactly what I'm gonna do! Though rain or shine, right?"

Piplup blinked at him. This guy, who'd actually _liked_ having a trainer... who _liked_ battling... _loved_ it, in fact... was sacrificing that for _him_?

He blinked a few more times, then huffed in amusement. "Alright, then. Stick with me, if you like. Your company's nice."

Pikachu beamed brighter. "Of course I will!"

"Alright, then. So..." Piplup unfolded his arms. "Off to the town?"

Pikachu energetically pumped a fist in the air. "Off to the town!" He marched ahead with much gusto.

Piplup gave an amused sigh. That guy had way too much energy and enthusiasm, sometimes...

He couldn't really complain, though. Like he'd said, his company was nice.

* * *

The days passed, one after another. Piplup got to see so many sights. So many places and pokémon that he'd never known existed! Just how much more awaited him, out there, in that big, wide world?

He wanted to see it all. Or as much as he could, anyway.

Either way, he felt more relaxed than he had in... his entire life, really. So much so that he decided, one day, to play a little game with Pikachu.

"Hey," he said, approaching the mouse with his flipper behind his back. He tried not to appear too smug. "Guess what I found."

Pikachu tilted his head in intrigue. "Hmm?" he replied. "Uh, I dunno."

"It's a food."

"Um... an apple?"

"... Okay, maybe I should be more specific. It's a berry."

"A berry, huh? Uhhhh... a chesto berry?"

"Nope!"

"A cheri berry?"

"Nope!"

"A... watmel berry?"

Piplup stared at him. "... Now, where the heck would I find a watmel berry out _here_?"

Pikachu shrugged. "It could happen."

Piplup blinked at him, then shook his head. "Alright, fine. I'll give you three options. One's the correct answer. Is it... a wiki berry? A figy berry? Or a mago berry?"

Pikachu's eyes widened. "Um... I really hope it's a mago berry..."

"Which one is it?"

"Uhhhh..." Pikachu's eyes glanced down at where the item was, though he couldn't see it. "... MMMago berry?"

Smiling, Piplup pulled out the pink and yellow, claw-shaped berry. "Correct!"

Pikachu's eyes glowed with sheer joy. "Oh, wow! Where do you find that?! It's been ages since I've had a mago berry!"

"Wouldn't you know? There was one on a bush nearby. The last one, though. This thing must be popular." Piplup was just lucky he'd been told only yesterday what this thing actually looked like. He handed it over to the very eager-looking mouse. "Here you go."

Pikachu stared at it in wonder. "Woooow..." He was practically drooling. Then, after a moment, he blinked and looked up at Piplup. "What about you? Don't _you_ want it?"

Piplup shrugged. "Eh, I'll live. No idea what it tastes like, anyway, so I'm not missing out."

Pikachu's mouth fell open. "You've never eaten one?!" He held out the mago berry. "Well, then, in that case, you have it!"

Piplup gave a light sigh, pushing the paw away. "No, it's fine. It's your favourite berry, so you enjoy it."

"But you don't even know what it tastes like!"

"Like I said, I'll live."

Pikachu looked down at the mago berry, then back up at Piplup. His eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait, I've got it!" Holding onto the berry with both paws, he concentrated. Piplup was about to ask what he was doing when the yellow end of the berry popped off in his paw. Beaming, Pikachu held it out. "Here you go! Try it!"

Piplup stared at him. Seriously. This guy. He was a piece of work, sometimes.

Smiling, Piplup let out a sigh of defeat and took the piece of berry. "Alright, fine, fine... I'll try it."

He popped it into his beak and chewed.

A wave of sweetness washed over his tongue. He blinked several times in surprise.

"So?" Pikachu asked happily. "How is it?"

Piplup swallowed the berry piece. "Very sweet. A bit _too_ sweet, honestly."

Pikachu laughed. "Guess it's not your kinda thing, then."

"Seems not."

"Oh, well. More for me!" Pikachu bit into the berry and chewed. A few moments later, he let out of squeal of pure bliss. "Ohhhh, that's good~!"

"Heh. Man, you really like those, huh?"

Pikachu nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! They're my absolute favourites!" He took another bite and chewed it. "Mmm~!" He swallowed it. "So gooood..."

Piplup chuckled. "Well, I'll be sure to keep my eye out for more."

"Aww, you will?" Pikachu beamed at him. "Thanks, pal."

... Pal, huh?

Heh. He could get used to being called that.

He smiled back. "No problem."


End file.
